Pope makes two appointments in India

Pope Francis on June 29 appointed a Coadjutor Archbishop in Patna and an Apostolic Administrator in Palayamkottai.

Pope Francis on Friday appointed a Coadjutor Archbishop in the Archdiocese of Patna, in eastern India’s Bihar state. The Pope transferred 64-year old Bishop Sebastian Kallupura of Buxar to Patna.

Born in Kottiyoor, Kerala state, on July 14, 1953, Bishop Kallupura was ordained a priest for Patna Archdiocese on May 14, 1984. Pope benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Buxar on April 7, 2009. He was consecrated bishop on June 21 that year.

Unlike an auxiliary bishop, a coadjutor bishop has the right to succession in the case of the ‎retirement, ‎resignation or death of the current bishop. ‎

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ conference of India (CBCI) announced on Friday that Pope Francis has appointed an Apostolic Administrator to the Diocese of Palayamkottai in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state.

In a communique, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, the CBCI Secretary General said that the Pope on June 29 accepted the resignation of Bishop Jude Gerald Paulraj of Palayamkottai, who reached the canonical retirement age of 75 on April 28. Simultaneously, the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Antony Pappusamy of Madurai as the Apostolic Administrator of Palayamkottai.